Category: Indian news

New Delhi, Aug.19 (ANI): The Government has issued an advisory to the States and put the country on high alert in the wake of some Intelligence inputs that Pakistan-based terrorists may strike during the upcoming festive season.

Notably, three major festivals–Onam will be celebrated on August 23, Raksha Bandhan on August 24 and Id-ul Fitr on September 13.

The Centre has asked state governments to take all possible steps to foil attempts by militant groups, particularly Lashkar-e-Taiba, to disrupt peace during ongoing Ramzan and other upcoming festivals.

Delhi, Karnataka and Kerala in particular have been asked to deploy additional forces in sensitive locations.

An advisory issued by Home Ministry has asked all states to increase vigil and take precautionary measures to ensure security in the country.

“We have sent alert to all states and are taking all necessary measures. There are possibility that Pakistan-based elements may try to carry out terror strike in the country,” a media report quoted Home Ministry official as saying on Thursday.

The advisory has asked states to be more vigilant and check crowded public places like markets, railway stations, bus terminals and parks besides other places of mass gathering, he said. (ANI)

Srinagar, Aug.19 (ANI): Three persons were injured in Jenab Sahib Soura area of Kashmir on Thursday when police resorted to use tear gas and baton charging to disperse a stone pelting group that attacked a bunker of security forces.

“The incident occurred at around 12.00 p.m. when a huge mob started pelting stones on a bunker of security forces. It

attacked the bunker from all sides to dismatle it forcibly,” said an official release.

Police and other security personnel used tear smoke and cane charge to disburse the mob. But it kept regrouping repeatedly

and continued heavy pelting.

Police later said that it fired in self defense. Some police and CRPF personnel also sustained injured.

Meanwhile, the three stone pelters have been shifted to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of medical sciences (SKIMS). (ANI)

Madani was taken to Thiruvananthapuram en route to Bangalore by air so that he could be produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate this evening.

There was high drama outside Madani’s residence as a large crowd of teary-eyed supporters gathered to bid their leader an emotional farewell.

Madani left his residence shortly after mid-day prayers to surrender before a local magistrate court. But as soon as emerged from his orphanage-cum-madrassa complex at Anwarassery, a heavy contingent of Kerala police in riot gear stalled the vehicle to allow Karnataka officials to arrest him.Bangalore Deputy Commissioner of Police Omkarayya executed the warrant against Madani with the support of Kerala police. The arrest took place without any law and order problems except some slogan shouting by supporters hailing their leader.

Addressing the media earlier in the day, Madani said he was being falsely implicated in the case as part of a deep-rooted conspiracy.

“When I read about warrant in papers, I spoke to my lawyers. This is a conspiracy against me. I approached the court for bail as it is the right of every citizen,” said Madani.

Appealing for calm, Madani asked party workers to protest through democratic means.

“I don’t believe I can return alive from Karnataka. I may be implicated in many other terror cases. I am suffering from a host of diseases but will surrender. If they arrest me in between, let them do,” he said.

Madani was listed as the 31st accused in an additional chargesheet filed by the police last month after confessions by suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba operative T Nazir linking him to the Bangalore blasts that left one person dead and 20 others injured.

A team of the Bangalore Police reached the Magistrate Court near Madani’s residence on Tuesday even as the PDP leader’s supporters said his health had worsened and he will not be able to travel to Bangalore.

The Bangalore police had been in Kerala waiting to arrest Madani in the 2008 Bangalore blasts case ever since a Karnataka court denied him bail.

Madani has been charged in the past for inflammatory speeches and is also believed to have links with the Laskhar e Toiba. (With PTI inputs)

BOGOTA, Colombia – A Boeing 737 jetliner filled with vacationers crashed in a thunderstorm and broke apart as it slid onto the runway on a Caribbean island Monday. Only one of the 131 people on board died, and the island’s governor called it a miracle.

The plane hit short of the runway on Colombia’s San Andres Island and skidded on its belly as the fuselage fractured and bits of landing gear and at least one engine were ripped off. The jet wound up on one end of the runway, crumpled and in pieces, as passengers scrambled or were helped to safety.

Of the 125 passengers and six crew members aboard the Aires airline jet, the only one killed was a 68-year-old woman, Amar Fernandez de Barreto, said San Andres Gov. Pedro Gallardo.

“It was a miracle and we have to give thanks to God,” Gallardo said.

Officials were investigating a range of possible causes and looking into reports that Aires Flight 8520 was hit by lightning before the crash on the resort island, Colombian air force Col. David Barrero said.

“You can’t speculate. Lightning? A gust of wind? The investigation will say,” Barrero said by telephone from San Andres. “The pilot’s skill kept the plane from colliding with the airport.”

Officials said 119 people were treated or checked at clinics and five of them were seriously injured.

The airline said at least five U.S. citizens were on the plane, while the U.S. Embassy in Colombia said that four Americans and one U.S. permanent resident suffered injuries. The embassy said one critically injured American was being flown to Bogota for care, while the others were treated and released.

Airline representative Erika Zarante said four Brazilians, two Germans, two Costa Ricans and two French citizens also were on the plane.
The accident occurred so suddenly that the pilot did not report an emergency to the control tower, said Col. Donald Tascon, deputy director of the civil aeronautics agency. He said the plane’s low altitude as it prepared to land — perhaps 100 feet (30 meters) just before the crash — may have averted worse damage.

Passenger Ricardo Ramirez, a vacationing civil engineer, told Caracol Radio that all had seemed normal, even though the plane was flying through a storm, with flashes of lightning, as it neared the airport.

“The plane was coming in perfectly. We were just about to land, everything was under control,” he said. The accident “appeared out of nowhere.”

After the plane hit and skidded to a stop on the pavement, Ramirez said he struggled to free himself and his wife from their seat belts.

“We tried to get out of the plane because the plane was starting to shoot flames,” he said. “In a few minutes, a police patrol arrived and helped us.”

Survival was “a miracle of God. Thanks to God we are alive,” Ramirez said, though his wife suffered a dislocated shoulder.

Firefighters quickly doused the beginnings of a fire on a wing, police Gen. Orlando Paez said. A group of police officers who were waiting at the airport for the plane to fly them back to the mainland aided in rescuing victims.

The jet crashed at 1:49 a.m. on the island, a resort area of 78,000 people about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of the Nicaraguan coast.

Ninety-nine passengers were taken to Amor de Patria Hospital on San Andres, said Dr. Robert Sanchez, the hospital director. “It’s incredible. For the dimension (of the accident), there should be more,” he said.

Sanchez said an initial examination indicated that the single fatality may have been caused by a heart attack.

Twenty other passengers were treated at another clinic, according to the national civil aviation agency.

Among the seriously injured was a 12-year-old girl who suffered a broken pelvis, Gallardo said.

A 1 1/2-year-old boy among the passengers wasn’t listed among those with serious injuries.

Dr. Ricardo Villarreal, director of the clinic of the same name, said the pilot suffered some cuts to his face and was under observation. He identified him as Wilson Gutierrez.

The airline, Aerovias de Integracion Regional SA, said it has about 20 planes, including 10 Boeing 737-700 jets. It said in a Twitter posting that it was “working and investigating with the aeronautical authorities to determine the causes.”

Barrero said scattered pieces of the plane blocked part of the 7,800-foot (2,380-meter) runway. But enough was usable that air ambulances would be able to land, he said.

Boeing said the 737-700 jet left the factory in 2003. It was not clear whether Aires was the first operator.

Aviation experts said it was too early in the investigation to speculate about what caused the accident.

At this stage in the probe, “you don’t exclude any possibility, but investigators will be looking closely at the weather,” said William Voss, president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation, based in Alexandria, Virginia.

Voss said a “sudden shift in wind direction can cause the aircraft to suddenly lose a lot of lift and end up landing short of the runway.”

He and other experts say there can be hazards due to wind shear, violent shifts in wind direction and speed that can develop, especially beneath a thunderstorm.

Tascon said San Adnres’ airport is not equipped with sophisticated equipment such as Doppler radar — which is used in many U.S. airports to help detect wind shear.

Larry Cornman, a physicist and expert on wind shear and turbulence at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said he doubted lightning alone would be enough to bring down an aircraft. He said a strike would have to be powerful enough to pierce the aircraft skin and would have to hit a very specific location, such as going through a wing and into a vapor-filled fuel tank.

Planes are designed to be protected from lightning, and because of their shape and metallic construction, lightning usually dissipates around aircraft rather than causing severe damage, Cornman said.

“You certainly don’t expect to see catastrophic damage to an aircraft due to lightning,” Voss said.

A navigational error resulted in the collision of two merchant vessels due to which an oil spill has been reported near Mumbai’s coast on Saturday morning. No loss of life was reported. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 33 sailors, but due to the impact of the collision a few containers filled with dry cargo have fallen into the sea.

“At 9.50 am on Saturday, merchant vessel Khalijia III was heading into Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the Panama-flagged MSC Chitra was leaving the port area when the collision occurred,” said Captain Manohar Nambiar, chief public relations officer, defence, Mumbai. A couple of containers aboard MSC Chitra fell into the sea.
The ICG’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai, received information about the incident at around 10 am. The container vessel MSC Chitra was grounded in the vicinity of Prongs Reef lighthouse.
“On receiving word, the regional operational centre of the ICG promptly despatched Indian Coast Guard ship Kamala Devi to render assistance. As of now 33 crew members have been safely evacuated by the Coast Guard ship and tugboat Vamsee-III. No casualty has been reported,” added Capt. Nambiar. Later on Saturday, ICG ship Sangram was sent with control response equipment.
“However, there is an oil spill in the area and the Coast Guard has sent a helicopter and ship for the necessary pollution control. MSC Chitra has suffered major damage and it is carrying around 2,000 tonnes of fuel,” said a Coast Guard officer. As of Saturday evening, the authorities were unable to assess the extent of the oil spill and damage to marine life. “Mitigation measures to control the oil spill are currently on. Oil needs to be pumped out of the merchant vessel into another barge, but choppy sea conditions are creating a bit of a problem,” added the Coast Guard official.
By late Saturday afternoon, the ships had been stabilised and were not at any risk of sinking. According to the Coast Guard officer, it was clearly a navigational failure. The Director-General of Shipping as well as the port authorities will be conducting an inquiry into the accident. “A proper picture of exactly what went wrong can be ascertained only after a detailed investigation,” said the officer.
MSC Chitra was heading to Mundra from JNPT. On July 18, the Coast Guard’s MRCC, Mumbai, had received a distress call from MV Khalijia-III due to excessive flooding. The vessel had been grounded due to flooding. Thereafter, authorities rendered immediate assistance by sending the tugboat Garware-III and ICG ship Subhadra Kumari Chauhan for rescue operations. All 28 crew members were evacuated.
MV Khalijia-III had come to JNPT from China carrying 30,000 tonnes of steel coils. It was berthed for repairs at JNPT.